The 45-year-old filmmaker helmed the forthcoming adaptation of the story of Noah's Ark, which originates in the Book of Genesis, and didn't want to be drawn into the stereotypes which are often displayed in portrayals based on religious scripture.

Talking to collider.com, he said: "I definitely wanted to get away from the cliché Bible movie of setting something with people in robes and sandals, set in Judea. This happened a long time ago, the pre-diluvian world, the pre-flood world, was, in the bible, something very magical and mythical. They talk about angels walking on the planet, they talking about people living for millennium."

Aronofsky filmed scenes for the epic - which has Russell Crowe playing the titular character - in Iceland because it made sense in terms "geological times" since it's relatively "new" land, much like the earth in the original scripture.

He added: "So I knew I wanted to create a different place, a different time. I started thinking about different places around the world and something about Iceland made sense because it's the newest land that's been created. Its literally just come up from the ocean, or relatively in geological times.

"So if you're making something about that happened a long time ago why use ancient earth like Judea, when actually go to Iceland where the earth is probably more connected to how it was a long time ago."

The story of the ark-building biblical patriarch Noah (Crowe), who in this version believes that God intends the flood as a human genocide. Director Aronofsky crafts an intense conflict between Noah and his own family, making for a compellingly weird and occasionally wonderful story.